Reflections

Okay, tonight we are in the kitchen, Jacob is sitting at the table and I’m cooking supper.

Jacob is talking and says “Mom, can we have a family discussion during supper tonight?”

I say, “Of course, is something on your mind?”

He says, “No, not really, I would just like to reflect on our weekend. I think it’s something we should do every Sunday night. Each of us just mention a few things that we liked or didn’t like about the weekend.”

My husband walks into the room and I tell him that Jacob thinks we should have a weekly reflection…he just looks at me. Like me, he is never sure what is going to come out of Jacob’s mouth or where it comes from. He agrees though and asks if Jacob would like to start. Jacob replies, “No, Mom is still cooking and I’m afraid she will burn herself if we start before she is done.” Translation - he is afraid that Mom will burn his tacos.

After we settle at the table, he politely lets me begin. I mention that I am sad that he is growing up so fast (today is his birthday) but that I am very proud of him. I also go through a short list of things we did over the weekend that I enjoyed.

Jacob goes next. He tells us how much he enjoyed going bowling, his family birthday dinner, quality time with the family, playing Clue and swimming in the pool.

Shannon follows and talks about how happy he is to have spent so much time with us this weekend. When school starts we only have about 30 minutes a day with him so weekends are precious.

This is just another example of how unique Jacob is…how many 8 year olds do you know would want to start having a weekly reflection as a family?

My baby turns 8 years old tomorrow

My baby turns 8 years old tomorrow. I can’t believe how fast the time has gone and it breaks my heart. He has come so far since he showed up 2 months early weighing in at 3 lbs 11 oz. People look at me like I’m crazy when I tell them he was a preemie…can’t tell it to look at him now! We tried for years to get pregnant and my pregnancy was a nightmare but he is worth every second. He is one of the sharpest children I have ever met and has such a unique view of the world and the people in it. I was the total opposite of him as a child…life would have been so much easier if I could have been more like him growing up!

I just went and tucked him into bed and told him about the night he was born. I had been in the hospital for several days with pre-eclampsia. That morning the doctor had told me that my body was starting to shut down and they were going to induce me. They also started giving me that wonderful (sarcastic voice here) magnesium sulfate to control seizures. The doctor told Shannon to go on in to work that night because nothing would happen before Saturday…it was Thursday.

At 10pm that night, Shannon called me to check on me and I told him that everything was fine. My dad had went home for the night but my mom was staying with me. Around 10:30 the doctor came in and said Jacob’s heart wasn’t responding well to the inducing medicine and they were going to have to do an emergency c-section immediately. She told me to call Shannon and tell him not to speed (yeah, right) but to get back to the hospital as soon as possible, she would try to wait on him. When Shannon got there they had already taken me into the operating room. I told him that no matter what happened to stay with Jacob. After he was born, they lifted him above the curtain for a split second so I could see him and then took off to the NICU with him. Mom told me later that Shannon had minded me very well and if the nurse had slowed at all Shannon would have become one with her because he was following her so close.

One of the really neat things was that Jacob was born right at midnight and they asked me if I wanted them to put midnight on the birth certificate and his birthday would be August 31st or did I want them to put 12:01 so that his birthday would be September 1st. I picked September 1st because no one else in the family was born in September and I wanted him to be unique. He definitely is.

I didn’t get to see Jacob until mid-morning the next day and even then I could barely see him…another wonderful side effect of mag sulfate is that it blurs your vision so badly you cannot focus at all. It was another couple of days before I was allowed to hold him. When I finally got him home I don’t think I put him down for an entire year.